Currently, there are many different types of nasogastric, esophagastric, and abdominal feeding apparatus for supplying nutritional products to patients. These nutritional products, which are almost always flowable, are available for a variety of supplanting and supplemental feeding requirements. For example, a number of suitable nutritional products are available from Abbott Nutrition and sold under the following registered trademarks: GLUCERNA; JEVITY; JUVEN; NEPRO; OPTIMENTAL; OSMOLITE; OXEPA; PERATIVE; PROMOTE; PULMOCARE; SUPLENA; TWOCAL; and VITAL.
Conventional feeding apparatus typically include a pump and various components and/or accessories for transferring the nutritional product from a container (e.g., a bottle) to the patient. These components, which may be reusable or disposable, typically include various tubing and connectors. All of the components (e.g., tubing and connectors) necessary for transferring the nutritional product to a patient using a specific pump are often collectively referred to as a “feeding set”.
The feeding sets for these feeding apparatus are often manufacturer-specific and sometimes even model specific. That is, the feeding sets are often designed by a particular manufacturer for exclusive use with its pumps or one of its pump models and cannot be used with a pump made by another pump manufacturer. Thus, the feeding sets can vary across the industry and between manufacturers.
The prevalence of such nutritional products, pumps, and feeding sets has established large manufacturing volumes across the industry, which has lead to new inquiries seeking improved manufacturing techniques, lower costs, and easier to use capabilities for health care and nutritional care providers. Many attempts have already been made to improve the state of the art, but many deficiencies continue to be found in the current technology.
Several particularly troublesome issues associated with the use of feeding sets stand out. One issue that continues to vex providers is that most present-day feeding sets are susceptible to leaking nutritional product during initial setup and post-feeding breakdown of the feeding set. To correct this problem, many innovators in the art have attempted to incorporate valves into their feeding sets.
While various types of valves have been found to be effective in some circumstances, the presently known valve technologies present added issues and challenges. Such valves increase manufacturing costs, fabrication time, and in many instances also decrease ease-of-use. In most instances, the prior technologies require multiple hands to actuate the valve. Other valve arrangements are difficult to prime or initiate flow through the enteral feeding apparatus.
Moreover, in order to accurately control the feed rate (i.e., the rate at which the nutritional product is delivered by the pump, through the feeding set and into the patient), at least some of the components of the feeding set must be securely held in place relative to other components of the pump, such as a rotor of the pump. In many pump designs, and particularly conventional peristaltic pump designs one or more components of the feeding set (e.g., a cassette or peristaltic tubing) are held in place by a door that closes over the respective components. If the door is damaged or misaligned, the positioning of the feeding set components relative to the pump can change. This relative movement adversely effects the accuracy of the feed rate. Thus, if the door is open, misaligned and/or damaged, the pump will not operate or will not do so properly. Moreover, any misalignment or damage to the door may also adversely effect any sensors (e.g., pressure sensors, air-in-line sensors) associated with the operation of the pump.
Unfortunately, the doors on many conventional pumps are easily susceptible to damage. Many past attempts to ensure that the proper feed rate is maintained have included incorporating in-line occlude actuators into the door. If the door does not close or remain closed properly, the feeding set is occluded to prevent the nutritional product from being pumped. It is desirable, however, if the operation of the pump is not dependent on the proper alignment and operation of the door of the pump.